Cory Morgan: Municipalities Should Stick to City Business, Not Causes

Pro-Palestinian protesters rally at Ottawa City Hall after the city raised the Israeli flag, on May 14, 2024. The Canadian Press/Sean Kilpatrick

Commentary

Flags are powerful symbols for nations, causes, ethnic communities, and sports teams. They can unify people, and they can be flashpoints for conflict. The placement of a flag often symbolizes an assertion of possession of a piece of land, as seen in the famous Iwo Jima flag-raising in World War II or by astronauts planting a flag on the moon.

Because of the depth and gravity of displaying flags, perhaps it’s time that Canadian civic institutions halted their practice of raising flags at the behest of different groups. It has been leading to division and conflict that shouldn’t be taking place on the steps of municipal buildings.

City halls across the nation commonly raise flags at the behest of interest groups. There is usually a petitioning or lobbying process to get the flag raised. On Nov. 15, both Calgary and Toronto raised the Palestinian flag at their city halls. This is controversial, to say the least.

Groups supporting Israel and those supporting Palestine have been taking to the streets around the world since the terror attack on Israel in October 2023, and the ongoing reprisals by Israel against Gaza. Some of the protests have been peaceful, some have not. By raising the Palestinian flag, the cities are giving an implicit endorsement of Palestinian statehood, which will inflame the debate further and could lead to conflict. Protests were held when the Israeli flag was raised at the Toronto city hall, too. Most citizens aren’t invested in either side of the conflict, and an appetite is growing to remove it from civic properties.

Calgary’s newly elected mayor, Jeremy Farkas, moved the date of the Palestinian flag raising from Nov. 30 to Nov. 15. Farkas is also putting forward an urgent motion to the city council to amend city policies to stop raising any national flags at city hall in the future. He likely wanted to avoid the backlash of cancelling the Palestinian flag-raising on short notice, so he’s getting it done quickly and closing the door on the issue for the future. Many Calgarians, tired of the political theatrics on the grounds of city hall involving foreign conflicts, will applaud this move.

Provincially in Alberta, a move to ban such flag raisings could be in the works. A policy proposal going to the floor of the governing UCP’s annual general meeting calls for ending the raising of foreign flags on all public property. If the members enshrine that policy and Premier Danielle Smith wants to apply it, it could end the practice at both municipal and provincial sites.

There would be a cost in ending these events, however. In cases where flag raising doesn’t involve countries in conflict, it can be a unifying and educational event in cities with diverse populations. It can give new citizens a sense of belonging and is an act of civil participation in a world where it’s dearly lacking. Some groups are sure to be upset, and court challenges could conceivably result.

There would be benefits to ending the flag raisings, though.

Mayors and councillors in municipal jurisdictions are notorious for stepping well outside of their mandate. Local elected officials shouldn’t be poking their noses into complex, international conflicts that don’t have a direct impact on the communities they represent. Time in council chambers is limited, and citizens would prefer their representatives spent that time constructing and debating policies involving road construction, community zoning, and trash pickup rather than miring themselves in debates over foreign conflicts. Getting the flag issue off the table could help them focus.

There would be savings in resources for both city halls and community groups if the flag raisings ended. City personnel and time are dedicated to these constant ceremonies, while groups wanting their flags raised spend time and money petitioning to do so. Tax dollars could be saved while community groups could dedicate their funds and resources more inward for their causes. The city council and administrators should focus on the city’s needs rather than on various causes.

Mayors and councillors are tasked with representing a diverse array of constituents. An appearance of impartiality is essential to effectively fulfill their elected roles. To try to cherry-pick between what may be considered appropriate flags and which may not would lead to unbearable bias and battles. With flags, it must be all or none, and the latter route is the clearer path to resolution.

The battles between religious and ethnic communities in Canada won’t stop just because their flags will no longer be hoisted on public property. But they won’t be drawn to city halls any longer, and local governments can stick to their mandates more easily.

In a perfect world, everybody would raise their flag and respect the rights of other communities to do so. Alas, we are not in such a place yet.

Views expressed in this article are opinions of the author and do not necessarily reflect the views of The Epoch Times.